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IFCO bans Manhunt II »

Following on from my recent posts (here and here) about the role of the Irish Film Censor’s Office (IFCO), last week brought news that the Censor, John Kelleher, had exercised his powers for the first time to ban a computer game on grounds of violence. The Video Recordings Acts, 1989 and 1992 extend the powers in the Censorship of Films Acts, 1923-1992 to cover videos (all of the relevant legislation is collected here). In particular, the Video Recordings Act, 1989 (also here) gives the Censor the power to certify and/or ban “video recordings”. Marie McGonagle discusses the system here (pdf; see pp 23-30; hat tip: TJ McIntyre). Although the definition of “video recording” in section 1 of the 1989 Act is sufficiently wide to cover games, they are (by another definition in the same section) exempted from that definition unless they are “unfit for viewing” (as defined in section 3); and if they are so unfit, then the Censor may ban them under Section 7(1)(b) of the Act, which provides:

If the Official Censor, having examined a video recording containing a video work … is of opinion that the work is unfit for viewing because …

I, John Kelleher, Official Censor of Films, have, in accordance with Section 7 of the Video Recordings Act, 1989, examined a video game containing the video work described in the Schedule hereto and am of opinion that the said work is unfit for viewing becauseâ€”

it depicts acts of gross violence or cruelty (including mutilation and torture) towards humans or animals,

And in the exercise of the powers conferred on me by the said Section 7 hereby prohibit the supply of video game containing the said video work.

The BBFC‘s recently-published Video Games Report (pdf), sought to understand what players enjoy about video games, and to explain their preferences for particular games; and it paid particular attention to the game’s predecessor, the controversial Manhunt (wikipedia). But whilst that wasn’t banned in the UK or Ireland (though it was in Australia), the press release on IFCO’s site explains that, while “in certain films, DVDs and video games, strong graphic violence may be a justifiable element within the overall context of the work”, nevertheless, “in the case of Manhunt 2, IFCO believes that there is no such context, and the level of gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence is unacceptable”. On radio last week, John Kelleher agreed with the interviewer that the game was “violence for the sake of violence”. Nor is IFCO the only such office to ban the game. The UK’s equivalent, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), has effectively done so too (here and here; see OUT-Law and The Register). There are similar moves in Italy. Moreover, The Registerreports that is has been rated AO [Adults Only] in the US by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). As a consequence, it also reports that

Both Sony and Nintendo have confirmed that they will not authorise the release of controversial video game Manhunt 2 on their games consoles – the PS2, PSP and the Wii – in the US.

The bad news? The Nanny State is still on the march. The good news? The marchers have adorable Irish accents! …

I have mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand, I don’t like censorship. On the other hand, John Kelleher presents a very strong argument about the unrelenting violence of the game. On the third hand, this type of ban smacks of the worst kinds of paternalism, and the kinds of reasons he advances are the kind about which people should be able to make up their own minds. On the fourth hand, unrelenting violence seems indefensible; and if we regulate or ban movies for this reason, why should we not do the same with games? On fifth hand, what if it’s art? it’s certainly expression. On the sixth hand, if it is expression, it’s very low value speech. On the seventh hand, even if it seems to be of low value, it may well have a political message about the violence of modern society. On the eighth hand, … Aargh. It seems I’m well on my way to becoming an octopus, and my head hurts. The issues are complex, but my head might hurt a little less if the statutory regime were less opaque. I suppose, in the end, if and for so long as there is a statutory regime regulating – and, in extreme cases, banning – games, then actual bans such as this one (even if few and far between) are inevitable, and the best that we can hope for is that the decision is taken in good faith, for compelling reasons, as this one was.

Update (23 July 2007): There was an interesting special report on the UK’s ban by Bulent Yusuf in the Digital Culture section of The Observer on 8 July, which I couldn’t on that paper’s website at the time, but which I have since found on the author’s wesbite: Axed: Manhunt 2. It’s well worth a read; here’s a flavour:

Thereâ€™s no refuting that MANHUNT 2 is brutal and bloody in the extreme. … But viewed objectively, the game clearly belongs to the tradition of Grand Guignol. It is aimed squarely at an adult audience who appreciates this kind of horror, and within those terms it does not merit condemnation. … The whole incident sets a dangerous precedent in the regulation of videogames, leading down a road that can only end in censorship. And the biggest loser here is you, the humble gamer.

7 Responses to “IFCO bans Manhunt II”

Pity they can’t ban Playstations to be frank. I love the information super highway, love and have engineered Telecom, Fibre Optic and Internet networks. Though I honestly detest videos games, video gamers and pretty much anything to do with them.

I was a child of the Spectrum, Commodore 64 and the Amstrad and have fond memories of playing tennis with a tape drive plugged into my TV. How things move on ….

[Is that Freedom of Expression?]

My friend recently broke a finger playing with his WII [sounds a little dirty]. He was engaged in a WII bowling contest when he struck a wall with full force. I had to laugh.

The IFCO in my view was correct. Look at the state of the US? Between access to guns and the right to bare arms [Constitutional] which is a constitutional right, mixed in with some video games I am not surprised that we have suicide killings going on.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

I like your octopus analogy. It reminds my instantly of two EU cases R v. Henn and Darby and Conegate v. HM Customs. One rule in one case, one rule in another case.

I believe “Won’t somebody please think of the children” is another expression that the has been given to us by the Simpsons. If you try searching for “somebody * think of the children” on google groups, there are no occurrences between 1981 and mid 1996. Between 1996 and 2007 there are about 1600 occurrences!

Itâ€™s an interesting paradox that people continue to blame video games for violence while simultaneously our country is involved in a war, a real manhunt. Except unlike in the game Manhunt II where it is man vs man simulated violence, babies and little children get maimed and murdered everyday in reality in Iraq.
I believe that it is ludicrous that people talk about games like Manhunt II causing violent acts out of one side of their mouth while they support fewer gun restrictions out of the other.
What violent video games was John Wayne Gacy playing again? I wish that John Gacy would have had a game like Manhunt II maybe he could have worked out some of his sick obsessions in a virtual world instead of the real one.
Isnâ€™t it time we let adults play video games for adults. Iâ€™ve been playing video games for twenty years. I remember when people were saying that Pac-Man was just “too violent”. I probably play about one game all the way through per year. I am not an â€œeverydayâ€? player by any means. Some of my favorite games, in past years, have been Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto. I donâ€™t see what the problem is.
I believe that movies like Hostel and The Hills Have Eyes remakes are as violent if not more than Manhunt. In fact, in Manhunt there is a moral behind the story. In these movies particularly The Hills Have Eyes remakes there is none, I still liked it though.

Also, I donâ€™t plan on buying any new console (I currently own PS2) until Adult Only games become available. I had my wallet out when I heard that there would be a Manhunt II Adults Only version. I planned on buying the Wii console and the Manhunt II Adults Only rated game, unfortunately now it looks like Iâ€™ll be forced to sullenly wait.

Weird, here in the US, violence pretty much can’t be banned by any government agency, while “obscenity” can be, but is generally only banned on the public airwaves. Americans wonder how adults can let their governments decide what’s ok for them to experience and what’s not. Funny how cultures differ.

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